Strand reeling apparatus



Jan. 13, 1959 T. T. BUNCH STRAND REELING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed April 28, 1955 INVENTOR 7. T. BUNCH By ATTORNEY F NEIL. ll:

Jan. 13, 1959 T. T. BUNCH STRAND REELING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed April 28, 1955 w UPx INVENTOR.

7. 7'. BUNCH A TTORNEV Jan. 13, 1959 T. T. BUNCH 2,868, 8;

STRAND REELING APPARATUS Filed April 28, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

T. T. BUNCH FIG 7 By 5/ United States Patent STRAND REELING APPARATUSTillmanT. Bunch, nearAshland, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company,Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationApril 28, 1955, Serial No. 504,498

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-45) entire length of the reel from one flange thereofto theother. In reeling operations, wherein a continuouslyadvancingyrelativelythin and: fragile strand is reeled upon successivetakeup. reels withoutinterrupting the advance of the strand,considerable difiiculty has been encountered heretoforein providingsuitable strand distributing means capable of achievingthe. necessaryrapid and smooth changes in. the distribution rate thereof, when thestrand is transferred instantaneously from a full reel to an emptyreeli.

An object of this invention is to.provide new and improved strandreeling apparatus.

Another object of this invention is to provide new and improvedapparatus for. distributing" relatively thin and fragile strandsuniformly upon takeup reels.

Strand reeling apparatus illustrating certain features of the inventionmay include a pair of reels, means for rotating each of the reelsindependently :of the other and means for alternately transferring astrand being reeled from one of said reels to the other. A reciprocablemeans distributes the strand between opposite ends of the reel upon which the strand is being reeled, and means are provided for actuating thedistributing means at any given time: at a rate proportional to thealgebraic sum of the instantaneous rotational speeds of the takeup reelsat that time.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had from the followingdetailed description of apparatus forminga specific embodiment thereof,when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a. fragmentary, topplan view of astrand reeling machine withparts thereof broken. away for clarity;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sideelevation ofa portion of the apparatus shownin Fig. 1 with parts thereof broken away for clarity;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary portion of the apparatus shown inFig. 2 with parts thereof broken away for clarity;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, horizontal section taken along line 44 of Fig.3; i

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary portion of the apparatus shown inFig. 1;

Fig, 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section taken along line6-6 of. Fig. 1;

Fig.7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section taken along line7--7 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 8 is a schematic representation of ahydraulic circuit forming partof the strand reeling machine.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a strandtakeup machine for reeling up a relatively thin and fragile strand. 10,which is advanced continuously at a constant linear speed from aninsulating machinetnot shown), without interrupting or slackening thetravel of the strand. The strand takeup machine includes a base 11designed to be mounted fixedly upon a floor or other foundation. Formedintegrally with the base 11 is a hollow, upright column 12 on which ismounted, with freedom to rotate thereoma bilaterally symmetricalg-reelcarrying frame, indicated generally by the numeral IS, comprising a baseportion 16, atop casing 17, and an in termediate central pillar 18,by'whichlatter the lowerbase portion 16 and top casing 17 are spacedapart and held together.

Spaced 180 apart at each side of theframe 15" are stat tionary, upright.members 20 and 21 which support the op posite ends of a horizontalcrossmember 22'. Supported fixedly by the crossmember 22 is a depending,generally cylindrical, journal housing 24. Journalled withinthelower endof the journalhousing 24 on a suitable bearing 25 is a central,cylindricalcollar 27 projectingtupwardly from. the top casing 17 of theframe 15:

The entire frame 15is rotatable on thecolumn 121and is provided on theopposite ends of the topcasing 17 with. two identical, cupped, latchreceptacles 1 28-482 The latch receptacles. 28?-28 cooperate withcomplementary, slidable latch members 2929 mounted on brackets 30-- 39positioned 180 apart. is. securedfixedly to the upright. member 21 andthe other bracket is secured fixedlyto a vertical supportSIl The latchmembers 2929 are designed. to be releasablyen gaged in latch receptacles2828 to support the frame 15. and hold it in either of two operatingpositionslocated 180 apart.

The frame 15 and its associated parts are designed to support and drivea pairof takeup reels 35 and 36. A pair: of freely rotatable, bearingcenters 38 and39 are mounted in the base portion 16 of the frame 15 toenter central, axialsockets (not shown) formed in lower reel heads 40and 41:0fthe takeup reels 35 and 36 to support the reelsu The bearingcentersSS and 39 areretractible downwardly" by a suitable mechanism (notshown) actuatedby levers 4'2; and 43 tobe disengaged individually-fromthe takeup: reels 35and 36. The base portion 16 of thezframe 15 isfurther provided with fixed, circular, .bottom reel guards.

drive shafts 51 and 52,. and are. designed toirotatewith The driveshafts 51 and 521v their respective drive shafts. are suitably supportedfor rotation in anti-frictionibearings 54 and 55 and are provided withpulleys 57and 58, re-' spectively, keyed thereto .in coaxial relation.

The pulley 57 is connected by a belt 59 to a drivepulley 60, which iskeyed upon a vertical, central drive shaft 62 (Fig. 2) rotatablyjournaled at its opposite ends in suitable anti-friction bearingscarried by the journal hous ing 24 and thecolumn 12. Near its upper end,the central driveshaft' 62 has keyed thereto a pulley 64 which is drivenby a corresponding belt 65 (Figs. 1 and 2) from.

from a pulley 74 keyed to a vertical, coaxial drive shaft.

75 freely rotatable upon the central drive shaft 62. between pulleys 60and 64. The drive shaft75 is driven by a pulley 77 integral therewith,and the pulley 77,. in

turn, is driven by a corresponding belt78'from a pulley. 79. The pulley79 is driven by a constantnhorsepowenm electric motor drive unit .80(Fig. 1),,similarto the drive. unit 70, .having a controlled maximumspeed. The-pulley. 79 is operatively connected. to the. drive unit80ythrough a conventional gear reduction unit t 81.

One of the. brackets 30--30 Rotary, constant displacement, hydraulicpumps 84 and 85 (Fig. 1) are operatively connected to the drive unitsand 80, respectively, through their associated gear reduction units 71and 81, respectively. As shown in Fig. 8, the pumps 84 and 85 areconnected in parallel to hydraulic conduits 87 and 88, which, in turn,are connected through a spool type, four way, reversing valve 90 to arotary, constant displacement, hydraulic distributor motor 92. Whenevereither one or both of the hydraulic pumps 84 and 85 are operated,hydraulic fluid from a reservoir 93, which communicates with the conduit87, is circulated under pressure through the conduits 87 and 88 in thedirection indicated by the arrows in Fig. 8. Check valves 9494 preventthe reverse flow of hydraulic fluid through the hydraulic pumps 84 and85. By virtue of this arrangement, the hydraulic pump 84 and 85 drivethe distributor motor 92 at a speed proportional to the algebraic sum ofthe speeds of the drive units 70 and 80 and in a direction dependentupon the position of a slidable control spool 95 forming part of thereversing valve 90.

The distributor motor 92 (Fig. 2) is mounted to a base plate 97, and isprovided with an output shaft 99 connected operatively to drive adistributor carriage 100 slidably mounted on spaced, vertical, parallelguide rods 102-102. The guide rods 102-102 (Fig. 7), are attachedfixedly at their upper ends to the bracket 30 secured to the support 31and at their lower ends to the baseplate 97.

Formed integrally with the distributor carriage 100 is a laterallyprojecting plate 104, which is attached fixedly to a vertical leg of anendless, flexible, non-slip, transmission belt 105 provided on its drivesurface with molded teeth 106106 of Neoprene compound. A suitable beltof this type is the Gilrner Timing belt manufactured by New York Beltingand Packing Company, Passaic, New Jersey. The belt 105 is arranged in avertically extending loop around a toothed drive pulley 107 keyed on theshaft 99 of the distributor motor 92 and a toothed idler pulley 108. Theidler pulley 108 is keyed on one end of a horizontally extendingoperating shaft 109 of a valve reversing mechanism which is indicatedgenerally by the numeral 110.

The shaft 109 is mounted rotatably on suitable antifriction bearings 112and 113 mounted, respectively, on the support 31 and a bracket 114projecting vertically from the outer end' of a laterally projectingbracket plate 115 which is attached to the outer side of the support 31.The valve reversing mechanism 110 (Fig. 6) also includes a generallytriangular shaped mounting plate 117 fixedly secured near one of itsapexes to the shaft 109 for oscillatory movement therewith in a planeperpendicular to the axis of that shaft. Mounted pivotally on pivot pins118 and 119 near the other two apexes of the mounting plate 117 are apair of depending hammer arms 121 and 122, respectively.

Attached to the ends of the hammer arms 121 and'122 adjacent to thepivot pins 118 and 119 (Fig. 6) are projecting, eccentric lugs 123 and124, respectively, which are connected resiliently to an anchor post 126by associated tension springs 127 and 128. The anchor post 126 is fixedto the mounting plate 117 in alignment with and midway between the pivotpins 118 and 119. The tension springs 127 and 128 normally urge thehammer arms 121 and 122 into the positions in which they are shown inFig. 6, so that the line of action of each of the tension springsintersects the center of rotation of its associated hammer arm.

Mounted fixedly on the outer side of each of the hammer arms 121 and122, near the free end thereof, is a shock-absorbing cushion member 130made of Neoprene compound, or the like. on the hammer arms 121 and 122are designated to strike alternately the opposite ends of the slidablecontrol spool 95 of the reversing valve 90, which is mounted fixedly Thecushion members 130130 .ing plate 117 so that the hammer arms 121 and122 will strike the ends of the slidable control spool 95 with sharpblows.

When the hammer arms 121 and 122 alternately strike the slidable spool95 of the reversing valve 90, they shift the spool axially in onedirection or the other to cause the reversal of the distributor motor92. The hammer arm 121 is designed to strike the right hand end of thespool 95, as viewed in Fig. 6, when the distributor carriage 100 reachesthe upper limit, of its traverse, and the hammer arm 122 is designedsimilarly to strike the left hand end of the spool when the distributorcarriage reaches the lower limit of its traverse.

Projecting outwardly and laterally from the distributor carriage 100, asviewed in Figs. 2 and 7, are a pair of elongated, spaced, parallelfingers and 136, between which the strand 10 advances on its way to thetakeup reels 35 or 36. As the strand 10 is reeled upon the takeup reels35 or 36, the distributor carriage 100 is reciprocated up and down andthe fingers 135 and 136 guide the strand to insure a uniformdistribution of the strand convolutions on the reels.

Each of the drive shafts 51 and 52 is provided at its lower end with anintegral collar 140 (Fig. 3) to which is rigidly attached a plurality ofradially, horizontally extending snagger arms 144144. These snagger arms144144 are made of stifily elastic material and are curved slightlydownwardly. Each of the snagger arms 144--144 is formed at its outerextremity with a head 145 (Fig. 4), flattened horizontally and formedwith a wedge-shaped notch 146. p

The snagger arms 144-144 are partly enclosed by reel guards and 151attached fixedly to the under surface of the top casing 17 at each endthereof. These reel guards 150 and 151 are rigid, slightly cupped discs,positioned over the takeup reels 35 and 36, respectively, coaXia-llytherewith, and are slightly larger in diameter than the reels. Each reelguard 150 and 151 is formed with a slot 152 (Figs. 1 and 5) extendinginwardlyfrom the periphery of the guard at an acute angle to the radialdirection of the guard at the mouth of the slot. Up-- wardly projectingstrand guide pins 154 and 155 are mounted rigidly on the top of each ofthe reel guards 150 and 151 (Fig. 5), one on each side of each of theslots 152-152.

Snagger arms and reel guards similar in construction to thosehereinabove described, are disclosed and claimed in Brillhart et al.Patent 1,988,437.

Positioned on the upright member 21 is an electrical control panel onwhich three pushbutton switches 161, 162 and 163 are mounted within easyreach ofan operator. The pushbutton switch 161 is connected to asuitable circuit (not shown) including conventional relays and the likefor controlling the energization of the drive units 70 and 80. Theswitch 161 is designed to deenergize and stop both of the drive units 76and 80 when depressed. The pushbutton switch 162 is also a part of theabove-mentioned circuit and is designed when depressed momentarily toenergize the drive unit 70 and stop the drive unit 80 after apredetermined. time delay. If the drive unit 80 is operating and thepushbutton switch 162 is depressed momentarily, the drive unit .70 isstarted immediately to bring the peripheral drum speed of the takeupreel 35 to within of the linear speed of the continuously advancingstrand 10. After a pre' determined time interval (e. g. 15 seconds) thedrive unit 80 is automatically deenergized. and the takeup reel 36stops, and thereafter the drive unit 70 drives the reel 35to reel up thestrand under substantially constant tension. Contrawise, the pushbuttonswitch 163 is designed, when depressed momentarily, to startthe driveunit 89 immediately and stop the drive unit 70. after the predeterminedtime interval. it will be understood. that this predetermined. timeinterval may be preselected within limits.

Operation To facilitate the description of the operation of the takeupmachine, let it be assumed that the motordrive unit 80 is presentlyenergized and is driving the takeup reel 36 toreel the strand 1%thereupon, as the latter advances continuously from left to right, asviewed in Fig. 1, at a constantpredetermined speed. The motor driveunit- 80 maintains a constant horsepower output so that the rotationalspeed of the takeup reel 36 decreases in direct proportion to theincrease in the winding radius of that reel, thereby" maintaining aconstant predetermined tension on the advancing strand 10. Through outthe reeling of the strand 10 upon the takeup reel 36, the hydraulic pump85 is driven-by the motor drive unit 80 at a speed directly proportionalto therotationalspeed of the reel 36, and operates the hydraulicdistributor motor 92.

Since it will be assumed that the motor drive unit '70 is inoperativeandthe takeup reel 35 is stationary, the

rate of operationof the distributor motor 92 is determined solely by thespeedof the hydraulic pump 85. Hence, the speed of the shaft 99 of thedistributor motor 92 is directly proportional to the speed of thehydraulic pump 85; and, therefore, is directly proportional to therotational speed ofthe takeup reel 36. The distributor motor 92 rotatesthe drive pulley 107 to drive the belt 105 around the idler pulley 108at aspeed proportional to the rotational speed of the takeup reel 36. Asthe idler pulley 1081s so driven, it rotates the mounting plate 117either clockwise or counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 6, dependiuguponthe direction of movement of the belt 105. i

Let it be assumed that the distributor carriage 100 is instantaneouslyat the upper limit of its traverse, as shown in Fig. 2. Themountingplate 117 of the valve reversing mechanism 110 then will be sopositioned, as shown in Fig. 6, that the cushion member 136 of thehammer arm 121 will have just struck the right hand and of the controlspool 95 to operate the valve 99" so as to reverse the distributor motor92.

Immediately upon reversal of the distributor motor 92, the belt 105 isdriven in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 7, to move thedistributor carriage lltttl downwardly. Simultaneously the idler pulley103 is driven by the belt 105 to"rotate the operating shaft1b9 of thevalve reversing mechanism 110 in a counterclockwise direction as viewedin Fig. 6. The downward movement of thedistributor carriagelflt) and thecounterclockwise rotation of the mounting plate Illi (Fig. 6) continuesuntilthe controlspool 95 of the reversingvalve 9b is operated again. bythe hammer arm 122.

As the distributor carriage 100 nears the limit of its downward.traverse the free end. of the hammer arm 3122. is engaged by the detent133 which momentarily holds the hammer arm. Finally, when thedistributor carriage ran reaches the limit of its downward traverse, theham mer 122 rides over the detent 133 and the energy which has beenstored in its associated tension spring 123 is released suddenly todrive the cushion member 139 against theleft hand end of the controlspool 95 with suificient force to shift it fully to the. right, so as tooperate the reversing valve90 to reverse the distributor motor 92. Thedistributor carriage 100 immediately reverses its direction and movesupward again until the reversing valve 90 is again operated at the limitof itsupward traverse.

Thus, the strandlO is distributed to and. fro across the takeup reel 36.from the inside of the lower reel head ill to inside ofthe upper reelhead. 49 ata rate directly proportionalto the rotational speed of thatreel so as to achieve a uniform distribution of the convolutions of thestrand upon the reel. ,Manifest1y, the lead of the latter convolutionsremains constant at a predetermined value throughoutthereeling,operation as long as the rate of distribution remains directlyproportional to the rotationalispeed of the takeup reel 36-.

When the takeup reel 36-is almost full and an operator desires to changethereeling of the strand .10 to the. now empty and stationary takeupreel 35, the latch members 2929 are disengaged from the latch.receptacles 28-28 and the entire frame 15 is rotated 180"counterclockwise, as viewed. in Fig. 1, until. the latch members areagain engaged. Thus, the positions of the reels 35 and 36 are.interchanged without interrupting the reeling. of the strand'lt). uponthe takeup reel 36. Subsequently, the operator depresses the pushbuttonswitch 162 whereupon the drive: unit 70 is energized and immediatelybrings the peripheral drum. speed of the empty reel 35"up tosubstantially the same speed as that of the advancing strand 10. Afterdepressing the push button switch 162, the operator has a predeterminedtime intervalite. g. 15. seconds) to. performa cutover opera. tion inwhich the strand 10:is. severed andthe new leading end thereof j isattached to the new empty takeup reel .35. i

To achieve the cutover,..the,oper.ator lifts the strand 10 manually fromits path of travel,.and without interruptirig or aflecting appreciably.its motion, slips it through the slot 152 onthe. takeup reel 35 betweenthe upwardly projecting guide pins .154and 155. The next snagger arm14.4- wh-ich passes the slot 142. catches the strand It) in the notch146 formed in its head. 145, and severs the strand atonce against asharplower edge 17!) formed on the trailing, edge of the slot. Simultaneouslythe snagger arm 1.4.4. jamsuthe. new leading. end of the strand 19beneath the underface. of. the snagger arm head 145 and the upper face:of..the upper reel head 48 of the takeup reel. Thus, the strand 10 ispractically instantaneously.caught, cut and attached to the. then emptyreel 35 to be subsequently reeled thereupon without interrupting or.afiecting. appreciably its: motion and tension. Immediatelythereafter,at the end of the short pre= determined time interval, the drive unit isdeenergized and the takeup reel 36 containing a finished strand packagestops rotating.

During the short timeinterval inuwhich the drive unit 70 is energized.and. brings the peripheral drum speed of the takeup reel 35 up to match.thelinear speed of the strand, the hydraulic pump 84 is likewise startedand brought up to speed. Manifestly, the hydraulicpurnp 84 will have anadditive afiectupon-thespeed of the distributor motor 92 and cause it tospeed up. Accordingly, the rate of distributionof the. strand 10 uponthe full takeup reel 36 will increase and, for the short time that:thetakeup reeln36 continuesto operate, the lead of the convolutions in thelasttlayer thereon will be greater than the. normal, predetermined lead.However, the latter effect is benefi cial because the last appliedconvolutions will overlayitheadjacent layer of convolutions at a greaterangle and. tend to restrainuncoiling when the strand It} is severedandthe takeupreel 36 isstopped.

The. additive effect of the simultaneously operating hydraulic pumpsStand. also aids in bringing the speed of the. distributor carriagerapidly up to that to quired to form strand convolutions on the emptyreel 35 having a lead atleastequal. tothe predetermined lead. At thetime the cutover is performed to transfer the strand 10 from, the .fullreel. 36 tothei empty reel 35, the speed of the distributor.carriage100. will. be

ferred to the takeup reel 35, the number of convolutions formed having alead greater than the predetermined lead is relatively negligible andconfined substantially to the initial layer of convolutions. Manifestly,as soon as the drive unit 80 stops, the distribution rate is determinedonly by the pump 86 and thereafter the lead of convo-' lutions formed isequal to the normal predetermined lead.

It will be understood that it is the novel arrangement wherebythehydraulic pumps are connected in parallel,

which facilitates a rapid transition from the slow distribution raterequired for uniform distribution of the strand 10 uponthe full reel 36to the faster distribution rate required for the uniform distribution ofthe strand upon the empty takeup reel 35. At the time the reeling of thestrand upon the takeup reel 35 commences, this faster distribution ratecauses the convolutions at the start to have a lead at least equal tothe predetermined lead. If the latter condition is not obtained, thestrand convolutions, instead of laying side by side in a particularlayer, would tend to pile up, one on top of the other, and the resultwould be a soft or rough strand package instead of a firmpackage whichis desired. It may be readily seen that in the above-described apparatusthe control of the distribution of the strand during the cutoveroperation is inherent, as contrasted to conventional apparatus whichrequire the shifting of clutches, gears or the like during the transferfrom one takeup reel to another.

Manifestly, the above-described embodiment of the invention is givenmerely by way of example, and numerous arrangements and modificationsthereof may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Itwill be understood that although the apparatus hereinabove described isdesigned for reeling strand-like materials, such as wire, this inventionis not limited to such practice, since other materials, such as paper intake form, textile strands, and the like, may be taken up on the reels.

What is claimed is:

1. Strand reeling apparatus which comprises a pair of reels, means forrotating each of said reels independently of the other, means foralternately transferring a strand being reeled from one of said reels tothe other, reciprocable means for distributing the strand betweenopposite ends of the reel upon which the strand is being reeled, andmeans connected operatively to the independent rotating means of bothreels simultaneously and powered thereby for actuating the distributingmeans at any given time at a rate proportional to the algebraic sum ofthe instantaneous rotational speeds of the takeup reels at that time.

2. Strand reeling apparatus which comprises a pair of takeup reels,means for rotating each of said reels independently of the other, meansfor alternately transferring a strand being reeled from one of saidreels to the other, a strand distributor mounted reciprocably fordistributing the strand between opposite ends of the reel upon which thestrand is being reeled, and hydraulic means for actuating the stranddistributor reciprocably at any given time at a rate proportional to thealgebraic sum of the instantaneous rotational speeds of the takeup reelsat that time.

3. Strand reeling apparatus which comprises a pair of takeup reels,means for rotating each of said reels independently of the other, meansfor alternately transferring a strand being reeled from one of saidreels t0 the other, reciprocable means for distributing the strandbetween opposite ends of the reel upon which the strand is being reeled,a reversible hydraulic motor for actuating the distributing meansreciprocably, and a pair of hydraulic pumps operatively connected to therespective takeup reels for operating the hydraulic motor at any giventime at a speed proportional to the algebraic sum of the instantaneousrotational speeds of the takeup reels at that time.

4. Strand reeling apparatus which comprises a pair of takeup reels,separate drive means for rotating each of said reels independently ofthe other, means for alternately transferring a strand being reeled fromone of said reels to the other, a strand distributor mountedreciprocably for distributing the strand to and fro between oppositeends of the reel upon which the strand is being reeled,

hydraulic pumps for operating the motor, said pumps being drivenrespectively by the separate drive means for the respective takeup reelsat speeds directly proportional to the rotational speeds of theirrespective takeup reels, and means connecting the hydraulic pumps inparallel hydraulically whereby the hydraulic motor at any time isoperated at a speed proportional to the algebraic sum of theinstantaneous rotational speeds of the takeup reels at that time.

5. Strand reeling apparatus which comprises a pair of takeup reels,separate drive means for rotating each of said takeup reelsindependently of the other, means for alternately transferring a strandbeing reeled from one of said takeup reels to the other, a distributorcarriage slidably mounted for movement parallel to the longitudinal axesof said takeup reels, an endless belt to which the distributor carriageis attached fixedly, a reversible hydraulic motor for driving theendless belt reciprocably to cause the distributor carriage todistribute the strand to and fro between opposite ends of the reel uponwhich the strand is being wound, and. a pair of hydraulic pumpsoperatively connected to the respective takeup reels for operating thehydraulic motor at any time at a speed proportional to the algebraic sumof the instantaneous rotational speeds of the takeup reels at that time.

6. Strand reeling apparatus which comprises a pair of takeup reels,separate drive means for rotating each of said takeup reelsindependently of the other, means for alternately transferring a strandbeing reeled from one of said takeup reels to the other, a distributorcarriage slidably mounted for movement parallel to the longitudinal axesof said takeup reels, an endless belt to which the distributor carriageis attached fixedly, a reversible hydraulic motor for driving theendless belt reciprocably to cause the distributor carriage todistribute the strand to and fro between opposite ends of the reel uponwhich the strand is being wound, a pair of hydraulic pumps for supplyinghydraulic fluid to operate the motor, said pumps being drivenrespectively by the separate drive means for the respective takeup reelsat speeds directly proportional to the rotational speeds of said takeupreels, and means connecting the hydraulic pumps in parallelhydraulically whereby the hydraulic motor is operated at any time at aspeed proportional to the algebraic sum of the instantaneous rotationalspeeds of the takeup reels at that time.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,300Spencer Sept. 6, 1927 1,988,437 Brillhart et al. Jan. 22, 1935 1,646Blodgett June 15, 1943 0, 36 Stone et al. Feb. 1, 1944 2, 24,021 CookJuly 15, 1947 6,6 6, Hansen et al. Mar. 27, 1951 a reversible hydraulicmotor for actuating the strand distributor reciprocably, a pair of

